Odds and Ends

02/15/00

I realized today that I can pretty much go without a beta reader. I
don't even remember the last time I had a full, official beta before I
posted a story.

It's odd, because I still feel the need for a beta reader. I'm so
much more comfortable having someone read a peice over before I post. I'm
very insecure; I need someone to tell me that my work doesn't suck.

But now I just post a story as soon as I've finished, and read the
piece over once once or twice. And throughly spellchecked. Spelling seems to
be the only thing I still have a problem with.

This scares me. I don't have a safety net. I don't have someone
pointing out plot errors to me. I'm all on my own. I may get stories out
faster, but I run a big risk.

02/03/00

Today I re-read a story I wrote in early January that's part of my
"unpostable" series. Basicly it's a bunch of stories that I wrote, all in
a row, that I deemed unpostable and never finished. And they're all long.
Anyway, a fresh re-read of this one made me re-think it's status. But I'm
still unsure, so I think I'll have someone else read it and trell me if it's
any good.

Scratch that. I *know* it's good. It's well written, well plotted,
and has excellent characterazation. But it contains a roomful of minor
characters that I've based on people I've known in real life, and I think
that I haven't described them or their situation in a way that other people
will understand. And it contains jokes that I believe will only be funny to
me, and maybe thirty other people. *And* I've *Mary Sued* a younger version
of myself. Oy.